The New Deal. Section2

Transcription

1 Section2 The New Deal As you read, look for: New Deal programs, textile strike, the effects of the programs on society, and vocabulary terms: New Deal, antitrust laws, minimum wage, Social Security Act, scab, and deficit spending. Below: Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt campaigned in the South before the November 1932 presidential election. By the next presidential election, the nation was in sad shape. People began to demand political candidates who would help their economic plight. The Republicans again nominated Herbert Hoover. The Democratic party chose Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the governor of New York. For the first time in almost 100 years, South Carolina politicians were actively involved in the election of a United States president. James F. Byrnes, a senator from South Carolina, was instrumental in getting Roosevelt nominated for the presidency. State Democratic leaders endorsed and campaigned on behalf of Roosevelt. 480 Chapter 18 The Great Depression and World War II

2 Roosevelt had been stricken with polio in He spent long, painful months learning to sit up, walk, and use his body again. People saw him as a man who had overcome the odds. When he made his acceptance speech at the Democratic convention, he said, I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people. The band started playing his campaign song, Happy Days Are Here Again. In November 1932, Roosevelt carried all but six states. One of the lines from his inauguration address has become famous: Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.... The determination and confidence in Roosevelt s voice helped to lift people s hopes. President Roosevelt was inaugurated on March 4, He immediately set about restoring faith in the economy and developing programs to help the economy recover, relieve the suffering of the unemployed, reform defects in the economy, and improve society. The day after he became president, Roosevelt closed all the banks until federal workers could determine if they were sound enough to survive. Most of the banks were able to reopen for good within a week. Bank runs stopped, and people became more confident. Most of Roosevelt s programs were called by their initials and became known as the alphabet agencies. Roosevelt wanted his programs to restore the regular business cycle without getting the government involved for too long. His programs would change the way Americans viewed the role of government. The series of laws and programs have come to be called the New Deal. The New Deal was very active in and important to South Carolina. It was divided into different initiatives known as the 3 Rs relief, recovery, and reform. Map 40 The Presidential Election of 1932 Map Skill: Which candidate won South Carolina? Economic Relief One of Roosevelt s early goals was to get people back to work and help those with little or no money. He set up several agencies whose purpose was to provide relief money and goods for the needy. These agencies used federal money to create thousands of jobs for people all over the country. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was established in March Over 2.5 million young men between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five Section 2 The New Deal 481

3 Discovering South Carolina The CCC and Cheraw State Park One of the first ideas Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed to Congress and the nation after he became president in 1933 was the Civilian Conservation Corps. Any male between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five, regardless of race, creed, or color, was eligible for the program. Enrollees received $30 a month and had to send a portion of their pay home each month. Not only did the CCC complete projects that helped the state s citizens, but families received much needed cash. South Carolina s first CCC camp opened in May Citizens of Chesterfield County purchased 700 acres of land and donated it to the state for recreation. The federal government purchased another 5,000 acres next to the original 700 acres. The tract was developed by the CCC into what is today Cheraw State Park. CCC Company 445 moved to Chesterfield County in March of 1934 and began work on the park in June. Four years later, the company had constructed a 1,200- foot earthen dam that formed a 300-acre lake and had built a community hall, a kitchen, a dining hall, cabins, and an infirmary. By 1942, the park had permanent facilities for daytime activities, group campsites, and rental cabins. Much of what Company 445 constructed is still usable today. Every county of South Carolina benefited from the CCC s efforts. By the end of the program in early 1942, the CCC had constructed eighteen state parks, stopped erosion in many counties, employed over 49,000 Above: This cabin and approximately 90 percent of the current buildings at Cheraw State Park were built by the CCC. young men, and pumped more than $57 million into the state s economy through wages and the purchase of land, supplies, equipment, and services. Through the CCC, South Carolina s young men learned useful job skills. The leaders of the CCC realized that many of the men who joined were mentally and physically beaten down and needed training in how to work in the field. The CCC leaders placed out-of-work teachers in the camps to provide the young men with the skills they would need to carry out CCC objectives. When these men left the CCC camps, they left with selfconfidence, a sense of purpose, and valuable job skills that they could transfer to the private sector. They could drive trucks, build bridges, operate radios, and perform over 133 skills that were crucial to America s national defense during World War II. The CCC made a difference in South Carolina and the nation. 482 Chapter 18 The Great Depression and World War II

4 lived and worked in CCC camps run by the U.S. Army and administered by the Labor Department. They worked on such projects as land clearing and improvement, forestry, dam building, and national park improvement. The young CCC workers were required to send most of their pay home. Even though the CCC had a strict segregation policy, approximately 200,000 young black men worked in its camps. The CCC also set up an educational program, under the supervision of black advisors, to eliminate illiteracy and juvenile delinquency. By 1939 over 50,000 South Carolinians had worked for the CCC on mostly conservation projects. Included in the projects in the state were the state parks at Hunting Island, Paris Mountain, Poinsett, and Myrtle Beach State Parks. Another agency that had an effect on South Carolina was The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). The agency gave grants (money for a specific purpose) to the states to distribute to those who were out of work or who were suffering because of drought conditions. The South Carolina Emergency Relief Administration was responsible for implementing the program in the state. The agency was unpopular in the state because of instances of racism, nepotism, favoritism, and incompetence, but the agency eventually served over 400,000 South Carolinians. Many people considered the direct payments of money demeaning, however, and FERA was abolished when the Works Progress Administration was created. The Public Works Administration (PWA) was created in June 1933 to build permanently useful, well-constructed, and well-planned additions to the Above: The Civilian Conservation Corps put thousands of unemployed young men to work on conservation projects. Did You acre of trees Know?An can remove about 13 tons of dust and gasses from the surrounding environment every year. Section 2 The New Deal 483

5 Above: In 1940, the PWA built the McKissick Library on the campus of the University of South Carolina. Today, the library is a museum. nation s heritage. This program was concerned with large, long-term projects. In South Carolina, the PWA built buildings like the McKissick Library at the University of South Carolina and schools in Chesterfield and Aiken counties. The PWA eventually built 70 percent of the nation s new school buildings, 65 percent of its new courthouses and city halls, 35 percent of its hospitals and health facilities, and 10 percent of its subway systems. The PWA also helped to build the U.S. Navy aircraft carriers Yorktown and Enterprise. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was created in May 1935 to put unemployed people to work on public projects. The WPA provided 3.5 million jobs at wages slightly lower than those paid by business, to encourage the unemployed to seek private employment first. Some of the WPA projects were similar to other government work projects. By the time the WPA ended in 1940, it had built 650,000 miles of highways and roads and built or improved 2,500 hospitals, 5,900 schools, 1,000 airports, 120,000 bridges, and nearly 13,000 playgrounds. During that time, it provided jobs for about 8.5 million people. Many people who lived during the depression remember the WPA for its art-related projects. Projects like the revitalization of Dock Street Theatre in Charleston were designed to integrate the artist into the mainstream of American life and make the arts both expressive of the spirit of a nation and accessible to its people. The Federal Theater Project employed actors, directors, writers, and musicians and produced original theater works. It also provided opportunities for some Americans to see stage productions that they 484 Chapter 18 The Great Depression and World War II

6 would never have seen otherwise. In larger cities, WPA workers produced puppet shows for children, dance theaters, and plays. Murals in public buildings were also created by the WPA. The murals became the showcase for creative expression. Murals portrayed social themes and showed average Americans at work and play. A common theme across the South was agricultural workers. The WPA s Federal Writers Project put hundreds of writers to work producing state guides, ethnic studies, a Life in America series, as well as works of fiction. In 1939, Congress offered to continue the Federal Writers Project if local agencies agreed to put up 25 percent of the funds. Every one of the states immediately agreed. The WPA provided historians with the opportunity to write histories on various topics. For example, oral historians collected slave histories. Another aspect of the WPA was the Historical Records Survey. In South Carolina, many old manuscripts, including whole books of wills from the eighteenth century, were transcribed from the originals to typewritten documents. Overall, the relief agencies were very beneficial to South Carolinians as well as other Americans, and prevented many people from going hungry and losing their property. Economic Recovery The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) was created in March The AAA paid farmers not to plant crops on part of their land. The idea was to raise farm prices by limiting production. The plan worked, and farm income improved. Although many South Carolinians were helped by the AAA, many more lost their farms. One drawback of the AAA was that the payments were made to landowners; the tenant farmers who worked the land never saw any of the money. In fact, with decreased production, many tenant farmers were without work. The AAA was eventually declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court because it was not voluntary. Today, the federal government buys surplus crops to keep prices up. The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) was adopted in June 1933 to help the nation s industries recover from the depression. The NIRA created the NRA and was supposed to stimulate business by allowing manufacturers to cooperate without fear of breaking the antitrust laws. These laws were enacted in the late 1800s to outlaw business practices that tended to restrain trade. Under the terms of the NIRA, the different industries were allowed to create codes of fair competition. These codes established production limits for member companies, fixed prices to prevent too much competition, gave workers the right to join labor unions, and established a minimum wage and a maximum workweek of forty hours. A minimum wage is the least amount an employer can pay a covered employee for a certain number of hours worked. Above: WPA photographers documented the accomplishments of the New Deal agencies. This railway bridge and highway bridge were built in South Carolina by the WPA. Section 2 The New Deal 485

7 Figure 30 New Deal Programs and Legislation Program/Legislation Date Purpose Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) 1933 Built dams on the Tennessee River to control flooding and generate electricity. Public Works Administration (PWA) 1933 Put people to work building roads, buildings, and other public works projects. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 1933 Insured individual savings accounts so (FDIC) that people did not lose their money if banks failed or closed their doors. Federal Emergency Relief Administration 1933 Provided federal funds for state and community (FERA) relief efforts. Civil Works Administration (CWA) 1933 Provided temporary federal jobs for the unemployed. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC ) 1933 Provided jobs for young single men building forest trails and roads, planting trees to reforest the land and control flooding, and building parks. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) 1934 Insured home loans for low-income families. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 1934 Regulated stocks and gave stock information. Social Security Administration (SSA) 1935 Created a system for retirement and unemployment insurance. Works Progress Administration (WPA) 1935 Employed out-of-work Americans to repair roads, build or repair bridges, paint murals, write guidebooks, put on plays and musical performances, and create statues in parks. National Labor Relations Act 1935 Guaranteed the right of employees to organize and to bargain collectively with their employers. Created the National Labor Relations Board to hear unfair labor practices. National Youth Administration (NYA) 1935 Provided job training and part-time work for college students. Fair Labor Standards Act 1938 Established a maximum workweek and minimum wage, prohibited child labor in certain industries, and set a minimum age for child workers. 486 Chapter 18 The Great Depression and World War II

8 The NIRA had an impact on South Carolina. Textile companies established a code that limited the mills to 80 hour work weeks. Reducing the hours of operation also led to fewer workers, but the workers that kept their jobs earned higher wages than before. Other businesses in the state also adopted the New Deal program. Retailers in most cities and small towns adopted the 40-hour work week. The program brought some stability to businesses. Economic Reform Several acts were passed to ensure that banks would be less likely to fail. The Banking Act of 1933 created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Under the FDIC, the federal government insured individual deposits up to $2,500 (raised to $5,000 in 1934). Citizens would no longer have to worry about losing their savings. Banks were required to pay a small premium on each account to help provide the insurance. The FDIC system is still in effect today, and deposits are now insured up to $100,000. All national banks are required to participate. You can see the FDIC sticker on the door of your bank. In August 1935, Congress passed the Social Security Act (SSA), which provided a national system of old-age insurance financed by taxes on their wages, paid by both employees and employers. This program was especially important to South Carolina because the state was one of only six states that did not have an old-age pension plan. Neither did the state have assistance for the blind nor aid for dependent children. The original Social Security plan also provided for a system of state-administered unemployment insurance and for aid to dependent mothers and children, the physically handicapped, the blind, and those over 65 who were not eligible for social security benefits. The program was very different from anything that had ever been tried before, and it had many critics. However, it has proven to be one of the most significant pieces of legislation passed during this period. Since 1935, the Social Security Act has been modified by more than twenty major amendments. Those amendments have added coverage for dependents, cost of living adjustments (COLAs), disability insurance, and Medicare. The Art of Politics This cartoon, entitled This Ought To Jolt Him, shows the symbol of the NRA, an eagle holding a gear cog and lightning bolts, giving a jolt of jobs and wages to Old Man Depression. Section 2 The New Deal 487

9 Above: President Roosevelt visited the TVA facility at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with the governors of Tennessee and Alabama. Did You Roosevelt Know?Franklin was the first president to have his own airplane, the first to visit a foreign country during wartime, and the first to name a woman to his Cabinet. Social Improvements The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was established to improve the lives of people living in the Tennessee River Basin. The river runs through the Appalachian Mountains and seven states. In the 1930s, this was one of the most economically depressed regions of the nation. The TVA employed people from the region to build dams along the river and its tributaries to control flooding and provide cheap electricity. The TVA also improved navigation on the river, attracted industry, improved farming, and created recreational areas. The TVA is one of the New Deal agencies still in operation today. A similar operation occurred in South Carolina the establishment of the South Carolina Public Service Authority, also known as Santee Cooper. The project built dams on the Santee and Cooper Rivers, and created two large lakes, Marion and Moultrie. Thousands of jobs were created and the electricity produced benefited many South Carolinians. Today Santee Cooper produces electricity for many areas in the coastal plain and coastal areas of South Carolina. In 1935, Congress created the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) to get power companies to extend power lines to rural areas or to help farmers create electric cooperatives. In the 1920s, power companies ran lines mainly to towns and cities. Because the rural population was spread out, power lines were expensive to build and maintain. In 1924, only about 1,000 South Carolina farmers had electricity. Newberry Electric Cooperative was one of the cooperatives created in the state to address the lack of electricity for farmers in the state. The REA loaned over $300 million to farmers cooperatives across the country. By 1944, electricity had been extended to over 83,000 of the state s farmers. Electric water pumps, lights, milking machines, fences, and appliances made farm life much easier. Since 1973, the REA has guaranteed loans made by banks and other financial institutions to finance major electric projects. New Deal Results Within a few years, the federal government had spent billions of dollars. In fact, the government spent more money than it collected in taxes, a situation called deficit spending. Critics spoke out harshly against this practice. They also spoke out against the government having such a major role in the personal lives of its citizens. Defenders of the New Deal responded that the 488 Chapter 18 The Great Depression and World War II

10 government had a responsibility to meet the needs of all its citizens. It was clear, though, that the government could not keep up such spending practices. Many of the programs lasted for only a short while. The New Deal did not bring an end to the Great Depression in South Carolina or the nation, but it did ease some of the worst problems. The New Deal programs provided new sources of cheap energy and helped women, minorities, and organized labor. Roosevelt s attitude toward creating opportunities for blacks eventually led the Democratic party to add a civil rights plank to its national platform in the 1940s, a move that angered many southerners. Some South Carolinians left the party because of this move. But in 1936, Roosevelt could do little wrong. He was easily re-elected for a second term even though the New Deal had not ended the depression. By 1937, the economy was sliding again as industrial production decreased. Roosevelt continued to work on the American economy, but he increasingly had to turn his attention to foreign affairs. The Textile Strike of 1934 Textile manufacturing had been the primary industry in South Carolina for many years. But for as many years, textile workers had been at the mercy of mill owners, who controlled virtually every aspect of the workers lives. Some mill owners even demanded that workers refrain from drinking alcohol and kept close watch on other parts of their moral lives. Mill wages were low, and blacks were not allowed to work at the more skilled jobs in the mills. The mill owners had placed efficiency experts in the mills. These experts timed the workers to determine how fast they were working. The idea was to increase the productivity of each worker. But most workers were already performing as fast as they could. The horrible working conditions in the mills probably did more to hold back production than did the workers. By the early 1930s, the mill workers throughout the South began to organize into unions. On Labor Day 1934, over four hundred thousand mill workers throughout South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama went on strike. The strikers wanted mill owners to recognize their unions, rehire fired union workers, and reduce the workweek. In 1934, however, there was no federal law that required industries to recognize unions and negotiate with them. Mill owners threw mill workers out of their homes, threatened them with physical harm, and hired scabs, replacement workers, to operate the mills during the strike. Above: President Roosevelt s fireside chats did much to restore the morale and confidence of the American people. Section 2 The New Deal 489

11 Cultural Connections Mill Villages When the Industrial Revolution began during the nineteenth century, most industries were small. Few companies had more than fifty workers. Only as companies and factories grew did company owners see a need to have as many of their workers as close as possible to the mill or factory site. As mill or factory owners developed their factories, they also developed towns or villages around the factories. The result of the development was what we call today mill villages. In South Carolina, a mill village is a town or housing settlement built by a textile company to house the workers for the company. Other types of company owned villages can be found in other places, including the villages owned by mining companies in the Appalachian Mountains. Workers often came from rural areas to the small towns or cities with little or nothing to their name. The villages were built to provide workers with a place to live. Early mill villages were primitive. The houses were small and poorly constructed. Floors in the houses were often of dirt. Flies, rubbish, and foul odors were prevalent. In the early twentieth century, Columbia had some of the worst mill villages. Two of the worst were Olympia and Granby, which were the subject of, The Woman Who Toils, a book that exposed the poor conditions of women working in those mills. Other mill villages were more modern. Pelzer, in Anderson County, was one of the first modern mill villages. The residential area had 150 houses that had 4 to 6 rooms and wells for drinking water. When the mill went to electric power from water power in 1895, the company also wired the houses for electricity. In addition, the company provided a school for children and hired a town marshal. Instead of a company store, which most mill villages had, Pelzer had independent merchants who rented their buildings from the textile company. Children attended school until the age of twelve when they were expected to begin work- Below: Most mill workers lived in houses provided by the mill owners. This mill worker s family lived in Spartanburg. 490 Chapter 18 The Great Depression and World War II

12 Above: These houses were occupied by workers at the Olympia Mill in Columbia. ing in the mill. And, the company did not allow dogs in the town. Mill workers, also called operatives, rented the houses from the textile company. The company usually owned the stores in the villages and operatives were expected to buy from the stores. Rent for the houses was modest, anywhere from $4 a month to $16 a month, depending on the size of the house. Electricity, when provided, was controlled by the company. One mill village in Greenville, Camperdown, had electricity from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.; electricity was turned off during the day except for Wednesday, when it was left on so families could do washing and ironing. When mill villages were part of a larger town, the mill villages were often separated from the rest of the town by a railroad, as in Union, or by the city limits, as in Columbia. Mill workers were treated poorly by nonmill workers. Mill workers were often called lintheads or bobbin-dodgers by non-mill workers. As you might expect, the textile mill was the center of the mill village. In many ways the mill owner was providing the workers with a place to live, but in exchange, he expected the workers to obey his rules. Textile mills followed a schedule signaled by the mill whistle or bell, and the whistles often could be heard for several miles away from the plant. Some mill owners locked the gates to the mill at a set time and if workers were late, they were locked out for the day. They would lose a day s wages. If mill workers refused to follow instructions or rules, not only would they lose their jobs, but they also would quickly lose their places to live. Owning the village meant the owner controlled the workers. Many mill villages, like Olympia in Columbia, still exist. Places like Pelzer, Lockhart, and Union retain a good bit of the organization from the mill villages located there. It will take many years before the remnants of all mill villages are gone. Section 2 The New Deal 491

13 Above: Many women were employed in the textile industry in South Carolina. They earned about 60 percent of what men made. Did You Know?Did Know? In 1899, Clemson established the first textile department. In 1904, its first graduating class had five students. The strike continued for several days. Threats against the workers increased, and the national guard was called out in some states. As the strike dragged on, tempers flared even higher. Finally, violence erupted, resulting in the death of seven mill workers in Honea Path in mid-september. The deaths shocked both sides into negotiating a settlement. But once the workers returned to the mills, the mill owners refused to honor the deal. At that time, industries were not required to abide by the agreements they reached with their workers. The strike of 1934, called The Uprising of 1934, broke the unions and forced the workers to accept the owners offers. Many workers lost their jobs permanently, and unions in the South have not been a major force since then. The strike, however, did have a positive influence on labor relations in the United States. In 1935, Congress passed the Wagner Act, which made binding on both parties any agreement reached through collective bargaining. It also outlawed many unfair labor practices, such as blacklisting. Congress established a permanent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to investigate complaints by labor against owners. The board still operates today. The strike still affects many people in South Carolina. Some of the descendants of the strikers, especially those who live in Honea Path and the surrounding towns, refuse to talk about the strike. The strike led people to become afraid of unions. To this day, most textile mills are not unionized, and many people think that unions have never existed in South Carolina. When mills do unionize, mill owners often elect to close the plant rather than deal with the union. That happened in Darlington in the mid-1980s. But workers in other industries can thank the mill workers of the Southeast for the NLRB. It s Your Turn 1. Why did President Hoover oppose federal intervention in the economy in the early 1930s? 2. What were the alphabet agencies? 3. Why were efficiency experts used in the textile mills? 492 Chapter 18 The Great Depression and World War II

14 South Carolina Portraits Mary McLeod Bethune Mary McLeod Bethune was born on July 10, 1875 in Mayesville, South Carolina, part of Sumter County. She was the daughter of two former slaves and one of seventeen children. Before she was ten years old, she was helping in the cotton fields on the family farm, though that was not unusual for the child of any farmer in South Carolina. Though she worked on the family farm, Ms. Bethune also attended the Mayesville Presbyterian Mission School; then she attended Scotia Seminary in Concord, North Carolina, a school for African American girls, on a scholarship. That school is now Barber-Scotia College. Upon graduation from Scotia Seminary in 1893, she entered the Moody Bible Institute. Bethune wanted to be a missionary to Africa, but when she was unable to achieve that goal, she quickly turned her attention to educating blacks in America. She once stated Africans in America needed Christ and school just as much as Negroes in Africa.... She taught at Mayesville Presbyterian Mission School, Haines Institute in Augusta, Georgia, and Kindell Institute in Sumter. While in Sumter she met, and later married, Albertus Bethune. In 1904 Bethune rented a two-story frame building in Daytona Beach, Florida, and began a school for African American girls. She named the school the Daytona Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls and it opened with six pupils, five girls and her son. Over the years the school grew, helped financially with money from James M. Gamble of the Proctor and Gamble Company. In 1923 the school merged with the Cookman Institute of Jacksonville, a school for boys, and the new school became Bethune-Cookman Collegiate Institute. The name was later changed to Bethune-Cookman College. Bethune remained president of the school until 1942, and then returned for a short time in She was a trustee of the school until her death in Ms. Bethune was active in other ways in the community. She became president of the National Association of Colored Women in 1924 and later founded the National Council of Negro Women. In 1940 she was vice-president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and throughout the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt she was one of his advisors on race relations. The group of advisors was often referred to as the Black Cabinet. She was also active in business endeavors and wrote numerous articles in newspapers and magazines. After a long and fruitful career, Bethune suffered a heart attack on May 18, 1955 and died. She is buried on the campus of Bethune-Cookman College. Until her death, she worked tirelessly to improve the educational opportunities of African Americans, especially African American girls. She also worked to improve race relations. She was one of the most influential African American leaders of the first half of the twentieth century and her accomplishments continue to bear fruit today. Section 2 The New Deal 493